SANDEEP MUKHERJEE Vs. STATE (NCT OF DELHI)

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with section 482 Cr.P.C., petitioner has prayed for quashing of the FIR No.460/2016 under Section 25 of the Arms Act, registered at Police Station IGI Airport on the complaint of Mr. R.N. Gupta, Assistant Security Duty Manager, Air India.

(2.) Petitioner has alleged that he had gone to the United States of America in the month of January, 2008 to pursue his master's degree in Computer Science from Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Thereafter, he took up a job in the United States of America as a software engineer and had been working there in different companies. In the year 2011, he joined a shooting group event in Chicago and purchased 50 cartridges, out of which all the cartridges except the one were used at the shooting range. The unused cartridge kept on lying in his bag. On 10th December, 2016, petitioner, along with his wife, boarded the Air India Flight No.AI 174 from San Francisco at 09:15 PST and de-boarded at IGI Airport on 10th December, 2016. Petitioner was to go to Calcutta therefore, he had to board another flight. While transferring the luggage of petitioner from Flight no. AI 174 to Flight No. AI 022, it was noticed that one live cartridge was there in his luggage, which led to the registration of the present FIR.

(3.) It is submitted that petitioner was not in a conscious possession of the said live cartridge which remained lying in his bag after the shooting event. Petitioner was let off after the investigations. Learned counsel for petitioner has contended that possessing live cartridges which are used in the shooting events is not an offence as per the laws of the United States of America. Petitioner had participated in the shooting event along with his friends for which purpose the cartridges were purchased. All the cartridges except the one were utilized. The unutilized cartridge, inadvertently, remained in the bag of petitioner, which bag he used to bring luggage for his India trip. Petitioner was not in a conscious possession of the live cartridge; therefore, FIR may be quashed. Learned counsel for petitioner has placed reliance on Gaganjot Singh Vs. State, , Abdul Nasir Barich Vs. The State (NCT of Delhi), and Sonam Chaudhary & Ors. Vs. The State (Govt. of NCT Delhi) & Ors., MANU /DE/0026/2016.